This is a good fat fly, for when you need a wide but active profile. This is pretty much a variation of the hackle fly, where you take a dozen low grade saddle hackle and spin them the length of the shaft. Only difference is that you're using one zonker strip. Easy to make a bunch in various shades and sizes at once.
Hook: Mustad 79580 wet fly, 4xl, 6-2/0
Tail and body: zonker strip
Thread: Kevlar
Simple to tie. Set hook in vice, wrap a solid foundation, tie in a small portion of the zonker strip hanging beyond the bend of the hook. Then spin the strip forward like hackle on a heavy coat of wet tying cement, being certain not to trap hair from the previous wind beneath the turn of the strip. Tie off at the eye and trim neatly. Finish off with a wrap knot.
For a frog leg effect, tie in a second strip first at the tail section and cross wrap the two lengths apart to the sides before spinning the body. The strips will tuck on the pull and flair on the pause. Very effective variation.
This fly is great for imitating any number of prey, from tadpole to small mouse to..... The hair of the zonker strip gives the body pure life when spun, springy and responsive to motion. And when pulled from the water to cast, the hair lays back to make it less wind-resistant than a hackle fly. This fly is best worked as slowly as possible while keeping it off of snags. The slower the motion, the more the hair gets to play on the patience of the larger, more wary fish. This is a good large fish fly, if you can get the smaller fish to leave it alone long enough for the big ones to make a move on it. Cast it around stumps, overhangs, prime structure with surface exposure. If you fish it slowly enough, it's hard to go wrong with a fuzzball.